I have had several nstances of near viewing of a tornado or of being in a tornado that was on the ground.
July 15, 1988 This was the day that the Iowa portion of the Omaha metro area was hit by a tornado. Council Bluffs, Iowa sustained substantial damage in some areas with just over three dozen injuries.
Back then, I was 7 years old; my brother was about 2 and 1/2 years. It was a cloudy, showery morning when both my mom, my brother and I went out with my grandma to yard sales.
We came home for the afternoon. My brother was napping, while my mom was in the bathroom. I was setting up a board game in the living room, where I could see the west-southwest very well, for my mom and I to play.
I pointed out to my mom that it looked like midnight (at 330pm) to the west with a couple cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. We went ahead and started our game. We did not get very far as the sirens begin to wail for a tornado warning.
My mom went upstairs to get my brother up from his nap and we all went downstairs to our laundry room (my dad was at work). Listening to the radio, they indicated a possible funnel over the Missouri River near downtown Omaha. The announcers were quite concerned as Council Bluffs was warned for a tornado with a tornado on the ground.
After the event, it looked like something came through west Omaha, we went sightseeing to look at some of the damage around our suburb. Trees were down in areas, but nothing major. However, the news showed Council Bluffs and the minor to moderate structural damage that resulted.
May 14, 2003 This more recent day is quite interesting because my area was just on the fringe of a GENERAL thunderstorm outlook. The forrecast called for only some isolated instability showers in the afternoon. About 12:15pm, that forecast went out the window!
Weather alert goes off for severe hail near Norfolk, NE, moving southeast at a moderate speed. Of course, I am like "this is interesting." I am home alone with my then 2 1/2 old femal golden retriever. As the storm warnings approached the Omaha metro area from the northwest, it was a huge contrast: blue sky to the southeast, even west, with dakening skies to the north and northwest.
About 1:15pm, the Omaha metro comes under a severe thunderstorm warning. The sky sure looked wicked, something that I have not seen for awhile.
This is where I begin to "play storm spotter". I noticed more of a wall cloud to the system just "outside my door". "That looks like a funnel. I would not be surprised if this goes tornado warning." About 1 minute later, I hear the faint sound of the sirens, followed by the weather radio just a floor below, and my dog and I scoot downstairs.
The warning indicated that a funnel cloud was sighted in northwest Omaha, close to me. I was a tad nervous, but no incident other then some wind and hail.
I have also had numerous mammatus cluds extend 20 miles from the main storm updraft with crawler lightning. Wall clouds greeting me TWO mornings in a row right overe the house, the nastiest looking greenish tint just giving me the willies.
